Neurasthenia is a psychiatric disorder, which is part of the so-called neurotic disorders. The term neurasthenia was introduced for the first time by George Millar Beard (1869), having an important boom in the past and disappearing completely in our century. However, although its diagnostic classification was eliminated from the DSM-II, it remains a psychiatric disorder in the ICD-10.
The term neurasthenia means “nervous weakness” in German and was selected for the presence of its main symptom: fatigue, tiredness or exhaustion, which appears without the need for the person to have undergone mental or physical exercise.
To understand how this disease occurs, in this Psychology-Online article, we will explain the Neurasthenia: what it is, causes, symptoms and treatment.
What is neurasthenia
Currently, the term neurasthenia is not used. However, in Freud’s time, it was one of the most used diagnoses. But what is neurasthenia? The concept of neurasthenia corresponds to a disorder characterized by profound feeling of fatigue and exhaustion, without the presence of significant effort. Fatigue is the most characteristic symptom of neurasthenia, however it is accompanied by other symptoms. Faced with this feeling of fatigue, the person has a high irritability and general malaise. In addition, they tend to present insomnia, as well as an objective disinterest in different activities, alterations in appetite and functionality in different areas of daily life, such as at work. On an emotional level, there are symptoms of anxiety, explosions of anger, hopelessness and emotions of sadness. As we can observe, the clinical picture of neurasthenia is depressive functioning. In fact, neurasthenia is the diagnostic label that, at the time, represented what we would call depression today.
Causes of neurasthenia
The causes of neurasthenia are multiple. There have been and still are different theories and hypotheses that support one or another cause of neurasthenia. That is, the etiology of neurasthenia has fluctuated over the years. At first, neurasthenia was understood as an exhaustion of nervous forces, accompanied by the demands of society, thereby causing intoxication of the body from the toxin “chenotoxin” or fatigue toxin. Subsequently, the physical and constitutional factors of the person gained importance, moving away from the etiology of neurasthenia as acute exhaustion of the nervous system.
Currently, the most limited approach to the causes of neurasthenia are affective factors. However, the emotional factor is not always the trigger of said disorder. Against this, we must highlight the tendency to react in one way or another as a factor to keep in mind. Thus, constitutional nervousness has an important relevance in the causes of the disorder, with affective participation presented in the form of concerns, fears and anxieties being the most relevant factor in its etiology.
On the other hand, they can also be causes of neurasthenia diseases infectioussuch as the flu or chronic poisoning, also some Metabolic diseases such as diabetes, and other organic causes such as head trauma, cancer or certain intestinal disorders.
In summary, we can observe that the causes of neurasthenia can be very diverse, presenting psychological and organic factors. It is still to be clarified which are the cause and which are the consequence.
Symptoms of neurasthenia
The symptoms of neurasthenia are varied and are separated into 2 groups: psychological symptoms and organic symptoms. The most representative symptoms of neurasthenia are the following:
Psychological symptoms of neurasthenia
- Tiredness and fatigue
- sad mood
- Pseudolack of memory
- Difficulty focusing attention and concentrating
- Pessimism
- Indecision
Organic symptoms of neurasthenia
- Hyperesthesia
- Paresthesia
- Vision or hearing problems
- Asthenia
- Muscular fatigue
- Shaking
- Disorders in the sexual sphere, such as
- Circulatory alterations: arterial hypotension, heart rhythm alterations, hot flashes,…
- Alterations in the digestive system: anorexia related to the sensation of gastric fullness
- Shallow breathing
- Kidney disorders: frequency, phosphaturia,…
- Endocrine disorders: thyroid hyperfunction and global adrenal hypofunction
Neurasthenia treatment
Given the different etiologies of neurasthenia and the different symptomatic presentations, it is necessary to limit its treatment to their presentation. Therefore, for the treatment of neurasthenia, different interventions are proposed:
- Biological-constitutional treatment: this treatment tends to focus its approach on vitamin resources, the most frequent being complex B and vitamin B1.
- Symptomatic treatment: the symptomatic approach is established through the administration of medications, being different depending on the symptoms presented. The most commonly used drugs for the treatment of neurasthenia are sedatives and hypnotics.
- Hygienic-dietary treatment: given the characteristics of this disorder, it is common for people who suffer from it to neglect the habits necessary to lead a healthy life. Therefore, in many cases it is necessary to establish an approach to physical exercise and proper nutrition.
- Psychotherapeutic treatment: people with neurasthenia tend to have a low self-concept. Faced with this, it is important to do psychotherapeutic work to improve self-concept, self-esteem and thinking patterns through, for example, the techniques of .
- Mixed or comprehensive treatment: faced with the large number of therapeutic modalities, it is advisable to establish a treatment that uses the resources mentioned previously in a form of comprehensive therapy, to address the different areas in which the disorder affects.
Psychasthenia: a type of neurasthenia?
The definition of psychasthenia corresponds to a set of symptoms associated with anxiety, phobias, nervous tics, obsessions and compulsions. The etymology of the word psychasthenia derives from the Greek “phsyche” translated as soul and “asthenia”, without strength. People who suffer from psychasthenia present very different symptoms from neurasthenia in general, characterized by an obsession that revolves around an idea and invades the person’s thoughts constantly, even if they want to stop thinking about it. This obsession generates an emotional intensity in the person and although they may view the idea as absurd and cause great suffering, they cannot get rid of it. When trying to eliminate this obsessive thought, people tend to exhibit compulsive behaviors, also resulting in high stress and anxiety.
What is the relationship between neurasthenia and psychasthenia? Some authors think that psychasthenia is a form of neurasthenia, others conceived them as totally different.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Bernabeu-Mestre, J., Cid Santos, AP, Esplugues Pellicer, JX, & Galiana-Sánchez, ME (2008). Diagnostic categories and gender: examples of chlorosis and neurasthenia in contemporary Spanish medicine (1877-1936).
- Freud, S. (1973). Neurasthenia and anxiety neurosis. Complete works, 1.
- Jaramillo, J.P. (2004). From hysteria to neurasthenia (Quental and Pessoa). Literature: theory, history, criticism, (6).